Bottled water often goes to waste because a person sets the bottle down after partial consumption, and thereafter forgets which bottle is his or hers. This is also true for soda bottles, canned beverages, or other types of containers. With increased awareness of global warming and the push to “go green,” it is desirous to reuse and recycle materials as much as possible.
To alleviate confusion and prevent waste, a marking can be made on the bottle to differentiate the container from other similar containers. A writing utensil such as a marker or pen can be used to mark the bottle; however, a pen or marker is often unavailable. Similarly, a tag, sticker, sleeve, etc., may also be used to identify the owner of the bottle; however, the tag, sticker, or sleeve must often be marked with a pen, marker, etc., to provide identification.
Thus, it is desired to have a container identification device that is secured to the container when it reaches the consumer or is easily attachable thereto, wherein the container identification device can be used to uniquely identify the container without the use of a writing utensil.
Along the same lines, it is often desirable to be able to include information on a container or other device that is hidden initially, but that may be revealed later by the user when desired. For instance, beverage cups purchased at a franchised establishment may include a scratch-off game piece that reveals a word, symbol, etc., when a top layer of material is removed. Such a “scratch-off device” may also be used to identify the container with a unique or identifiable word, symbol, etc., when the top layer of the device is scratched off.
As another example, the game piece or other similar device may instead be embodied as a “peel-off device.” The peel-off device may include a top piece of material that covers a word, symbol, etc., either on a separate layer or on the container or device itself. The top piece of material may be peeled off or otherwise removed to reveal the unique word, symbol, etc.
Although the scratch-off device and the peel-off device fulfill their intended purposes, removing the top layer of material of a scratch-off or peel-off device leaves a mess. Thus, it can be appreciated that an improved marking device that temporarily hides predetermined information is also desired. Moreover, a marking device that both temporarily hides predetermined information and uniquely identifies the container without the use of a writing utensil, as discussed above, may also be desired.